Wild Beast Within
by Darks8728
Summary: A Sonic Unleashed adaptation. When Sonic is thrown onto a broken planet, little does he know that the Dark entity awakened from the planet's core has also been awakened - in him. With the help of his friends and a strange little creature with a case of amnesia, Sonic must restore the planet and revive the 7 Chaos Emeralds, and most importantly - tame the wild beast within.
1. Prologue

**Author's note: So I've been really interested in taking Sonic Unleashed and adapting it into a story for a loonng time now. I try to follow the cutscenes as close as possible, just to keep it accurate. However, it always bugged me how Sonic just randomly appears on Dr. Eggman's fleet in the opening cutscene, or how he ends up on a different planet. Just to explain things a bit more and make the story flow more smoothly, I made a short prologue of Sonic in Mobius, and how he sees strange objects in the sky...so this is the prologue! Enjoy!**

**-Sonic Unleashed and all rightful characters belongs to SEGA **

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_PROLOGUE_

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No one seemed to notice the strange objects that seemed to hover high up in the sky, covering the stars at night. That is, no one but a blue hedgehog.

Night was peaceful on the planet Mobius, all the animals asleep in their snug beds. The lights flickered out in houses, blanketing the land with darkness. The moon lit the land pale silver, casting shadows behind trees and buildings. However, there would be times when the moon would suddenly be covered by something, not a cloud, and the land would be thrown into total darkness, as if an eclipse were taking place. There was a soft breeze, rustling through the long grass and the leaves of the trees. Sometimes, the wind would pick up, whooshing faster and more fiercely, and then, it would die down and revert back to its soft and gentle trickling.

Sonic found this quite annoying.

The blue hedgehog had found a decent sleeping place on an old willow tree, and he had climbed onto one of its higher branches, cloaked by its leaves that created a nice shelter for him. The night was warm and not at all chilly, and so it gave him an opportunity to spend the night outdoors, under open skies. He had been gazing up at the night sky for a while, studying the stars and the moon, and now, his eyes were mere slits as he began to doze off.

But Sonic was a hedgehog, and being an animal that coexisted with nature, he could feel that something was…off. He shifted on the branch, trying to get into a more comfortable position to try and shake the feeling off, but it nagged at him like a prickled branch snagged in his quills. "Come on…one night of peace and quiet is all I ask," he muttered sleepily, covering his face with his arm, his ears twitching.

Right then, a leaf dislodged itself from a branch above him, and as if toying with him, landed right on the hedgehog's nose. Sonic sneezed and sat up, swatting at his face with annoyance. "Ok! I guess it _is_ too much to ask for!"

He let out a yawn and leaned back against the tree's trunk, staring up at the sky again. There it was again, the deep stirring in his gut that told him something wasn't right. The wind had picked up once more, rocking his branch, and the hedgehog's ear twitched. Why was it doing that? It was if someone was turning a giant fan on and off, causing the wind to pick up and die. The night hadn't been that chilly, but now, with the strong gust of wind, it brought a slight chill with it, and Sonic flexed his quills a little, hugging his knees close to his chest. "What's going on? A tornado coming or something?" He kept looking up at the sky, expecting for something to appear.

And appeared it did. Just as the wind picked up, the blue hedgehog suddenly saw the moon being covered up, a dark silhouette blocking it's light and bringing darkness to the land. He stood up on his branch, staring with growing suspicion. What was this? He peered closer at the dark object moving across the moon. Was that a deck he saw? A cannon? An engine? The feeling of unease grew, and too restless to stand still, Sonic leaped down from his tree branch, landing on the ground effortlessly.

By the time he reached the ground, the object had passed by, and the moon's light shone once more, the wind dying down. But the unease in his gut did not fade, and the blue hedgehog tried to place the feeling. Every time he felt like this, it was as if his body was signaling that danger was near. Like when his friends were in trouble. That's how he was able to show up and save them time to time again. Sonic sighed almost impatiently, the quills on his back flexing. He could almost swear that the object he saw was some sort of space mobile or ship.

Danger was in the air, and he could feel it. And usually, in the world he lived in, danger came in the form of a certain, mad genius bent on world domination.

"What are you up to this time, Dr. Eggman?"


	2. Chapter 1: Awaken the Beast

**I feel that the prologue is tiny in comparison with this chapter. Well, converting fighting into words does take a lot of effort (and space, and time, etc.) , as I have realized. **

**This is the opening cutscene of the game, where Sonic (somehow) lands on Dr. Eggman's space fleet in space (obviously). I think the hardest part to write was the so called torture Eggman inflicted on Sonic...it's much easier to just watch him screaming and writhing then attempting to ****_write_**** it. XD Alright, enjoy folks. **

**I do not own Sonic Unleashed or any of the characters.**

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**_CHAPTER ONE_**

AWAKEN THE BEAST

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His creations were absolutely marvelous. Just the sight of his handiwork spread out around and beneath him sent glee down the mad genius's spine. The glow of the moon and the weak rays of the far away sun shining down on his space fleet, as if creating a spotlight. He righted his glasses as he posed dynamically in front of his control panel, arms raised, laughing loudly with evil contempt.

_Ho! It seems my masterpiece is coming together quite nicely. All I need now is the final part to my plan, and then…_ he rubbed his hands together, _the hope of my new empire will be absolute!_

The human sat down in his hover chair, stroked his mustache and gazed down the runway intently. A shield of bulletproof glass protected him, and as his ship made another orbit around the blue planet below, his other vessels trailed along. Now…nothing could slip past his security. He would be prepared for anything, any surprise attack, any approaching ships, any…

Suddenly, the control panel in front of him flashed red, a warning sign. The Doctor leaned forward in surprise, not believing what it was telling him. _Second engine has blown due to undetected force, _the monitor droned in a robotic voice, and at the same time, a powerful jolt slammed from below him and against the seat, causing him to jump in his chair. He quickly grabbed the armrests, his glasses slightly crooked. "Hm…?!" he started, but he didn't finish his sentence, for the monitor let off a beeping noise, and he got off his chair and leaned forwards, staring out the protective windshield. Down the runway, he could see the fire and smoke from the blown engine rising into the blackness of space, heat waves flickering. However, as he squinted and peered closer, he could make out a small shape, on the deck in front of the fire. The glow of the flames illuminated the figure, but even so, the human didn't need to see clearly to know who it was that had destroyed the engine.

Sonic felt the heat at his back as he rose from his landing position. Thanks to his feat, the ship was titling ever so slightly to the right, and the engine continued to spew smoke into the air. He hoped Tails had gotten away safely with the X-Tornado. Back on Mobius, he had had to wake Tails up from his peaceful sleep, much to his regret, but his unease had become unbearable. He had told the fox his suspicions about the strange weather patterns and of the strange objects covering the moon, and how they should take the X-Tornado up to investigate. "It's got to be Eggman. Who else could it be?"

The blue hedgehog smiled inwardly as he remembered Tails clambering sleepily into the plane and bringing them up into space, the X-Tornado transforming to accustom to space standards. Sonic had crouched on the wing, staring up in surprise at the giant fleet circling around his home planet. "Wait for me, this will only take a second," he had reassured his brother, winking and spin-dashing off to the main fleet.

The glow in his emerald green eyes illuminated his face as he smirked and curled his fingers, staring down the runway. The fire fringed his form with red and orange light, creating an illusion that he was in flames. _Well well, it seems that the Doctor still needs to improve his security. That laser camera didn't even see me coming, _Sonic was tempted to look behind him so he could check to see if his little bro was ok and had escaped, but he forced himself to keep his attention to the front. Didn't want to give away the fact that he wasn't the only one here.

His effort paid off as robots started to appear from openings in the ground. It seemed that Dr. Eggman had changed their design this time, for instead of the usual red, carrot-nosed robots, these robots were blue with tiny heads and a sturdy body. Although Sonic didn't know exactly where Eggman was hiding, he could sense that the doctor was probably furiously pressing buttons and loading his cannons, ready to blast him to pieces.

And he was doing exactly that. The doctor pressed a few buttons furiously, causing tanks and guns to rotate and aim for the little blue figure standing at the end of the runway. Seeing that the robots beneath him were standing there, obediently waiting for his command, Dr. Eggman thrust his arm forwards and pointed at the intruder. "Fire!"

The cannons and guns fired, the bullets spiraling towards the blue blur. But of course, true to his title, Sonic dashed forward, a blue trail of light behind him as the bullets whizzed harmlessly past, exploding against metal. The robots rushed towards him with their arms outstretched, as if they could withstand the Mobian's charge. Sonic grinned with a glow in his eyes, and with an extra burst of speed, he braced himself and rammed straight through the first robot, his sturdy frame breaking through the other side and causing the robot to explode into metal chunks. More robots came at him, but they suffered the same fate. Like a spiky bullet, Sonic tore through them as a knife would through butter, emerging on the other side with ease. Fire and sparks rose into the black sky, adding onto the fire already raging from the blown engine. The next few robots he spin-dashed into, the extra boost allowing him to uncurl and spread his arms out, flying for a short period in the air before he had to curl up and spin-dash back to the ground. To an onlooker, it would seem that the hedgehog was experiencing more joy than hardship fighting an army of robots. _Come on Eggman, give me a challenge!_ He thought cockily in his head as he continued running down the runway.

As if on cue, a dark robot emerged from the shadows where it had waited unseen, and it raised its arm as the hedgehog approached. It was larger than the blue robots, and Sonic was heading straight for it as it brought its arm down.

If the arm had made contact, it would've crushed him senseless. Sonic could tell that he couldn't stop or out run it. Stop, and the robot would merely have to swing its arm back up and catch him under his chin. Try and out run it, and his tail would forever be mangled. As the arm closed down on him, Sonic realized that he'll have to deflect the attack, and he twisted his body around so that his left flank was facing the closing arm. Thrusting an arm out, his hand made contact with the robot's joint while his other arm gripped against the ground, supporting his body against the downward force. During all this, his legs hadn't lost their momentum from his run, and he pushed off against the ground, sweeping aside the robot's arm. To make sure the robot didn't follow him, Sonic spun around the robot and brushed against its arm before taking off once more, leaving the robot disoriented and confused. More blue robots came to block his path, but in the end, their parts lay scattered and ruined on the ground, having suffered the crushing impact from Sonic's speed.

At this time, the doctor could see that his forces weren't going to hold back the hedgehog for much longer, and he saw that he himself would have to do some moving around as well. Making sure his hovercraft was sealed shut, he rocketed out of his protective room and secured himself into his new position, taking the controls.

Sonic sensed the object before it came, and he looked up to see something big and heavy drop from the sky and land a few meters in front of him with a shuddering impact. A giant black robot, even bigger than the one he had just dodged, stood at least five times his height. Structure wise, it looked like the blue robots, except bigger, stronger, and probably full of dirtier tricks. From his position, he could see Dr. Eggman situated where the robot's head should be, in between the shoulders and on top of the chest. His hovercraft had latched onto the robot quite securely, and he moved a rod forward, causing the robot to raise its cannon like arm. In place of its fingers, round holes emerged and fired bullets too fast for the eye to see.

But of course, Sonic was faster. He dodged the first few easily. However, the bullets became harder to see as he neared, and he had to narrow his eyes and swivel his ears to try and hear where they were coming from. Suddenly, a stray bullet rocketed straight towards him, and Sonic knew that it was too late to dodge to the side. Slowing down and hoping he still had enough momentum, he launched himself upwards, the bullet just missing him as it shot past below. His jump had been too hasty though, and so he had to perform a flip to right himself before he landed, a bit roughly, on the ground once more. Right when he landed though, another bullet aimed straight for his head, and Sonic let out a grunt of surprise. "Huh!" he exclaimed as he curled up and spin dashed through a flurry of bullets, all of them missing him by inches.

Dr. Eggman saw the blue hedgehog heading straight towards him. "Why you little…" he cursed and he lowered the robot's arm and pulled it back suddenly, no longer shooting bullets. Sonic could see what he was planning to do, and quickly getting out of his spin-dash form, he leaped to the ground just as the arm came crunching down, crushing the metal floor to bits. He could feel the vibrations rocketing through his small frame, and Sonic tucked his tail in and came through, running past the robot and continuing down a high roofed, long corridor. He could almost feel the Doctor's rage as more bullets whizzed past him, all missing their mark. Seeing the smooth, curved walls, Sonic took this advantage and ran onto it, sliding across the metal surface. Bullets exploded everywhere, and yet he still managed to keep a cocky grin on his face as he skated across and landed on the ground once more.

By now, the hedgehog had put much distance between the evil genius and himself, a little blue dot among dented metal. But as Sonic had predicted earlier, the robot had more tricks up its sleeve. Dr. Eggman yanked back at his stirring rod, causing the right arm to pull back. "You're not getting away!" he shouted with determination, and he thrust the rod forward furiously. The robot's arm shot out, its giant hand detaching from its arm and shooting after the hedgehog, the hand connected to its arm by a sturdy piece of rope.

Sonic didn't see this approaching threat, for he was too busy feeling pretty triumphant. _Ha!_ _Those bullets just weren't fast enough to match _my_ speed,_ he thought with a hint of arrogance. But even a little arrogance, as a known fact, was a very dangerous trait to have. And it was because of his overconfidence that caused the hedgehog to fail to sense the danger behind him, until the shape of its shadow completely blocked out his. By the time his gut suddenly jerked with the sense of its presence, it was too late.

The giant shadow alarmed him, and he snapped his head back to see the hand closing down on him. "Wha?!" he exclaimed in utter surprise. If he had seen the hand earlier, he could've dodged it quite easily, for it was traveling at about the same speed the bullets had been traveling. But all the little hedgehog could do now was try futilely to outrun it. The plan ended in failure, and the hand snatched the spiky creature. Sonic squirmed and tried to break free of its grip, but that only resulted in an even stronger hold, yet not strong enough to squish him into a hedgehog pancake. It seemed that Eggman - no matter how strong his hate for his blue nemesis - didn't want to kill him. Yet.

Dr. Eggman watched with satisfaction as the hand snapped back into position on the arm, the blue hedgehog struggling – but to no avail - to break free. The hand had clasped him around his stomach so that the upper part of his chest, shoulders, and head was free. He brought the hand up to his shield so that he was eye level with the Mobian, and he felt a smug smile on his lips. _You have nowhere to run now, Sonic,_ he thought in his head. Sonic realized that struggling was futile, and he stopped, staying absolutely still, and the Doctor expected to see a look of defeat on his face. But instead, the blue hedgehog faced him, a defiant glow in his emerald eyes and a devilish grin on his face. _We shall see about that, Egghead,_ Sonic's eyes seemed to say, and suddenly, the grin was replaced by a grimace and he closed his eyes, his body tensing. Dr. Eggman leaned forward, suddenly wary of his sudden change in behavior. The very air around them seemed to crackle for a second, and then, with a flash, seven, glowing objects of different color appeared around the hedgehog, circling around his head.

"What…!" Dr. Eggman breathed in utter surprise that turned into icy dread in a millisecond. The objects circling the hedgehog were Chaos Emeralds. _How did he find them all!? Blast that hedgehog! _The doctor thought. Desperately, he tried to bring the other robot's arm around to cover up the hedgehog and separate the gems from him. But in his heart, he knew it would be no use. The charged Chaos energy had already been absorbed by the hedgehog, and with that power, Dr. Eggman's efforts to stop him would be futile.

The other hand of the robot was closing down on Sonic, but he kept his eyes shut, feeling the power building into him, a warm current surging through his body that left his quills tingling. He could feel his quills transforming, flexing upwards, and the tingling of his skin told him that the final transformation had begun. Suddenly, the seven Chaos Emeralds withdrew towards his body with a white burst of light. His eyes flew open, glowing a fiery red due to the last of the Chaos Emerald's power. With a grunt, he thrust his arms outwards, yellow flares of pure energy bursting out of the robot's hand. The palm crackled and the fingers exploded, freeing the hedgehog from its iron grip. The arms burst a millisecond later, and Dr. Eggman reared backwards from the sudden force.

Super Sonic thrust himself backwards as well, putting distance between Dr. Eggman's robot and him. He hovered in the air for a while, staring into the Doctor's eyes. His entire form had transformed because of the energy from the Emeralds. Instead of blue fur and quills, his body glowed a radiant yellow, energy crackling around him like fire. His eyes had taken on a deep red color, replacing his usual light emerald green color. For a few moments, Sonic gazed at the stunned human, his eyes impassive. Then, he broke into a wicked grin, tensed, and launched himself straight into the robot's midsection.

Dr. Eggman felt the shuddering impact as Sonic tore through the robot and flew out from the other side. "Gyah!" he shouted, the robot starting to fall on its side. He quickly pressed a few buttons and unattached his hovercraft from the robot, hovering wobbly in the air. The Doctor could see the hedgehog zipping around, a yellow bullet against the black sky, and for a second, he almost despaired. _Now with the Chaos Emeralds in Sonic's possession, the final part of my plan won't be complete! _He thought in frustration.

But Dr. Eggman wasn't going to give up that easily. He had gone through a lot of trouble building this fleet, and he was just a step away from creating his long awaited Eggmanland. He racked his thoughts. _Perhaps…if I can lure that hedgehog to the converter…separate the gems by force…yes…that just might be it! _Suddenly, things didn't look so dark after all, and the Doctor felt tempted to clap his hands together at his ingeniousness. However, he knew that if he did, he would give away his plans to the hedgehog, and he needed to keep the Mobian in the dark if he were to pull this off.

Sonic saw the doctor pull himself out of the robot and look anxiously at the hedgehog. The Mobian grinned, getting ready to launch himself at him. Seeing this, Dr. Eggman steered the hovercraft hastily towards the long tunnel. "Uh oh, t-time to go!" he stammered, and he slammed on the pedal, boosting the craft forward. Sonic smirked and shook his head at the retreating figure. _Ah Eggman, you haven't changed a bit,_ he thought, and without hesitation, he shot off after him.

The tunnel was long and winding, and the doctor had already put much distance between Sonic and himself. But the hedgehog followed pursuit, ramming into closing doors that had shut to block him out. The doors exploded into a yellow inferno when the hedgehog plowed past. He flew to the end of the corridor and burst the walls open, flying into space. The back of the main airship hovered below him, and he grinned. _No use keeping this here anymore,_ he thought, and he dived towards the back engine.

As Sonic flew away from the exploding airship, he continued along his path to destroy all the other spacecrafts that made up Eggman's space fleet. He tore them apart, metal ripping against his skin like butter, flames dancing like a firework's display. His mere speed caused corridors to explode, doors to shudder, and engines to blow. All of Dr. Eggman's hard work crumbled under the hedgehog's power, and as much as Sonic wanted to stop and admire the damage he had done, he knew he still had to find Dr. Eggman himself. Now where did he go? The hedgehog scanned all over, trying to find a round little figure among the wreckage. Dr. Eggman would've retreated to somewhere that wasn't on flames, and so the Mobian flew past the damaged spacecrafts and into emptier space.

Sure enough, he spotted a few aircrafts that he still hadn't destroyed situated further away from the others. It was close to a planet as well, which he thought was his home planet. One of the crafts looked pretty strange. It was long, with a dome shaped top surrounded by cylindrical supports, and a long shaft extended downwards. Eggman's emblem was also imprinted on the top. When he squinted at the ship, he suddenly caught movement. Something was heading towards the domed part of the ship, and Sonic smirked. Without hesitation, he zoomed after the figure.

The little figure was quickly entering through a closing door, his hovercraft wobbling from flying too fast. Dr. Eggman panted as he bumped against the corridor walls, shaking his craft violently. His momentum was too great, and he crashed against his control panel. The buttons he pressed triggered his windshield to open and dump its shrieking occupant on the floor rather roughly. Dr. Eggman bounced a few feet on the ground, his hovercraft rolling along with him, and came to a stop near a large, curved window.

At the same time, Sonic burst through the floor of the room, shooting up towards the ceiling and coming to a halt. He had decided not to use the corridors, knowing his speed would've blown them to bits. It was probably better to keep his nemesis alive than engulfed in a yellowy inferno. He gazed triumphantly down at the cornered human, knowing that after a long game of cat and mouse, he had finally trapped him.

It seemed that Dr. Eggman had realized that as well, and he scrambled away from the window and kept his back to the wall across from it. "S-Sonic!" he exclaimed with anxiety. He bent down on his knees and bowed his head on the floor. "I-I'm sorry!"

Sonic slowly began to descend towards the middle of the room, and Dr. Eggman kept on apologizing. "R-Really, l-look, go easy on me!" he stammered. The hedgehog landed quietly in front of him as he pleaded, "I'll turn over a new leaf, I swear! Just give me a chance!" With that, he landed with his elbows on the floor as well, hands clasped up towards the hedgehog as if in prayer.

Sonic, still glowing from the Chaos Emeralds' power, chuckled quietly at his nemesis's foolish behavior. "Hah! Well, this is new. Showing remorse, Eggman?" he questioned tauntingly. Well actually, it wasn't really new. This wasn't the first time Dr. Eggman had "sworn" to change his ways, and he had used his mock change of behavior to steal the Chaos Emeralds before from Knuckles, who had been too gullible to see through his mask of innocence. Sonic wasn't as gullible though, and so he kept his guard up as he watched the cowering human. However, the room they were standing in appeared pretty empty. The window was behind the hedgehog, and a wall with circular grooves was behind Dr. Eggman. In the middle of the floor was a circle. The ceiling had strange circular holes in them, but he decided to dismiss it. _Man, what's with all the circles? Is it the fact that you're pretty round yourself? You really got to change the way you design your rooms Eggman,_ he thought.

Seeing that the Dr. had nothing else to say, Sonic continued to taunt, "I was actually pretty impressed at those airships you built. In fact, I should've brought a camera with me, snap a few pictures before I destroyed all of them. Pity…" he lowered his eyelids and wagged a finger, "if you played nice, I wouldn't have to break all your _toys._"

At this point, Sonic's guard was down, and he didn't notice during his taunting that Dr. Eggman had reached behind him and had pulled something out. Now, as he finished talking, he saw the anguished look on the Dr.'s face suddenly turn into an evil grin. "Gotcha!" he exclaimed with triumph as he pressed down on the red button of the trigger in his hand.

Instantly, the room started to change. The floor had seemed empty at first, but Sonic had failed to see the secret compartments in the floor. One by one, they opened up, revealing pillars. They each rose, enclosing the hedgehog in a circle at the center of the room. The strange holes on the ceiling extended downwards as rods, closing down on him. Sonic's smirk was wiped off his face as he looked around in shock at the changing room. "Wha…!?" he breathed, the columns encircling him. It all had happened too fast, and for a few seconds, all he could do was whip around and stare at the rising pillars. His main instinct was to flee, so he bolted and tried to make a run for it, but it was too late. Blue beams of energy from both the pillars and the rods caught him like a web, sucking him back to the center. Circular pulses of the beam kept him hovering in place, locking his arms against his sides. He struggled against the beams, yellow flares of energy spitting as he used all his strength. _Why, can't, I, break free!_ His thoughts hissed in frustration. Surely the power from the Chaos Emeralds could overpower these beams? But as he grunted and curled his fingers, the circular beam secured around his waist and arms seemed unbreakable. _Darn it! The blue beams are probably neutralizers cancelling out my energy!_

By this time, Eggman had already stood up. A platform rose from the floor, just another thing Sonic had missed during his investigation, and it carried the Dr. up above the struggling hedgehog. It seemed that Sonic was stuck in the middle of the pillars, which had created an energy barrier around him. A cyan circle on the floor glowed as well. Dr. Eggman watched with glee at the struggling hedgehog, laughing with menace.

"You should know by now, Sonic," he began, "that there's always a reason I bring you into such an enclosed room such as this one." Sonic titled his head to look up at him, his red eyes glinting with both confusion and slight anger. Dr. Eggman grinned. "You see, those Chaos Emeralds are an essential part of my plan. Oh, what plan is that you ask?" He interrupted before Sonic could lash out with a comment of his own. "You see that planet behind you?"

He gestured towards the window behind the two of them. Sonic jerked his head back and glanced with gritted teeth at the blue planet, still trying to break free, but to no avail. It seemed that the spacecraft they were in was hovering right above the planet. Dr. Eggman nodded and continued in a matter-of-fact tone, "As much as it looks like it, that isn't Mobius anymore, Sonic. Oh yes, you were probably too busy destroying the rest of my fleet to realize that we've already moved away from our home planet. But you see, the planet we live on doesn't contain the ideal power I need. However, after ages of researching among countless scripts, I've found the perfect solution for that – reawakening the ancient beast sealed within this one!"

"What are you saying!" Sonic retorted at last, after listening to the Doctor's rant and not getting a word of it. He clenched his jaw together and fixed his red eyes on his adversary. "So once you decided that our planet wasn't enough to quell your evil thirst, you picked another one instead? As if they were your toys!" He couldn't believe how ignorant the human was behaving. "Whatever you're planning to do, I'm not letting you get away with it!"

"My my, such harsh words. What's the matter? Is it the fact that the odds are in my favor now?" Dr. Eggman merely jeered. "How does it feel now, my dear friend, to have the tables turned, to be rendered hopeless, in the clutches of your opponent?" He challenged his nemesis, and when Sonic kept his jaw clenched and didn't reply, he smirked and swept an arm to the side. "Well, after all those times you've foiled my plans, I don't think you earn the right to know where I'm heading with this one. Oh, but you'll be a part of it alright…let's start, shall we?"

The wall behind Dr. Eggman opened to reveal a set of controls and panels that moved towards the platform he was standing on. At the same time, the rods from the ceiling started to crackle, and when Sonic looked up at them in surprise, he could see electricity, giving off a pink glow, powering up. Dr. Eggman laughed above him as the electricity built up and the rods aimed towards the blue hedgehog.

Everything was occurring too fast, and yet, in that last instant, Sonic's eyes widened as he realized what was going to happen.

The electricity shot out at full blast from all rods, and they all penetrated the hedgehog with a fearsome force. Sonic let out a scream of pain, the beam around his waist tightening into a deadly grip. He writhed in the air, his fingers curling from the pain. The electricity was engulfing his entire body, and convulsions of heat and ice cold gripped him. He was on fire, and yet submerged in icy water. The yellow flares of light around him flashed and sputtered with him, as if feeling his pain. But for some reason, he felt the power of the Chaos Emeralds slowly ebbing away from him, and a wave of panic hit him. Dr. Eggman was trying to force the Emeralds away from him! Without their energy, he would be absolutely powerless and vulnerable to the electricity. At the moment, the Emeralds were still keeping the worst of the pain away from him. What would it feel like then, without them…? Sonic narrowed his eyes and gnashed his teeth, trying to keep the Emeralds within him.

But today, Dr. Eggman showed no mercy. He seemed absolutely bent on getting what he wanted, which in this situation and basically in every, were the Chaos Emeralds. "That's right Sonic. Your power will become mine instead!" he shouted. The circle kept unleashing more and more waves of electricity at the blue blur, and no matter how strong his determination was to keep the Emeralds away from the Doctor, the hedgehog couldn't take it any longer. Unable to keep the power confined in his body anymore, Sonic threw his head back and let out a howl of agony. The golden glow in his body disappeared, reverting him back to his normal self, and the seven Chaos Emeralds flew out of his body, circling around him.

Now, without the Emeralds' power, the real waves of pain hit him, and the hedgehog felt the full power of the electricity tear into his body. Sonic thrashed and screamed, feeling as if his body were being ripped apart. He couldn't feel his arms or legs anymore, they had long gone numb, although his arms were still tensing and lashing out. He felt his vision blurring into a long tunnel, sparks dancing in his eyes. A shudder ran through him as his back arched with agony. He felt as if he were choking on the electricity itself, causing white-hot flames to burst inside him. Twisting his head to the side, he managed to wrench one eye open and stare at the Chaos Emeralds around him, their forms dancing in his vision. Was it just him, or were the Emeralds getting…duller? Or had the electricity damaged his brain too much? He didn't have much time to think about it, for another wave of pain hit him. "Aahhh!" his scream echoed around the room.

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Outside, the space station responded to the energy that it was being fed from the converter.

Although Sonic didn't know it, the spacecraft that he and Dr. Eggman were on was actually a cannon very similar to Space Colony Ark. As more and more energy were being drained from the Chaos Emeralds and the hedgehog, the space station started to transform, the long shaft at the bottom splitting from the middle and rotating outwards. As the steel flaps moved away, it revealed a winding tower of metal supports, protecting the long, needle-shaped cannon within it. Already, it was sparking with purple energy, still waiting to be charged to its fullest. The domed part of the station had rotated as well, making sure that the occupants inside would be able to see its power to its fullest when the time came.

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During all this, Dr. Eggman was feeling triumphant that his planned had worked. His attempt to lure Sonic into the energy converter was a success, and now, with the Chaos Emeralds' power separated from the hedgehog, he could harness it and charge up his laser cannon. Already, he could see that most of the power from the Chaos Emeralds had been drained. Their usual, scintillating glow had dimmed, and continued to do so as the electricity kept draining them. Sonic was still suffering from the onslaught, writhing and convulsing wildly while being suspended in air, his eyes rolling. "Tsk, tsk…" as much as Dr. Eggman despised the hedgehog, he wasn't cruel enough to keep him hanging while being tortured. If Sonic were to writhe and scream in pain, the Dr. would at least give him room to do so. He pressed a button. The blue beams of energy dissipated, and the ring around the hedgehog's waist disappeared. Without anything holding him in place, the blue blur dropped to the floor, gasping still as electricity pierced him. "Be grateful while you can, hedgehog," Dr. Eggman muttered.

He turned his attention back to the window and the cannon below him, charged with the Emeralds' energy. No more delaying, it was time. He rubbed his hands together while laughing with satisfaction. "Oh, I've waited a long time for this!" He raised his hand back melodramatically and pressed down with all his might on the red button that would activate the cannon and bring him a step closer to his victory. "Fire!"

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The purple energy in the cannon started to expand, condensing into a deep pink beam that shot out of the tip, bursting through space. It headed straight towards the planet below, piercing through its atmosphere easily and shooting into the ocean. A massive amount of water shot up into the air as the beam traveled straight into the planet's core, causing a rippling shockwave to expand across the land.

The force from the alien impact caused the very crust of the planet to crumble within itself, splitting and cracking into pieces. From all over the world, the inhabitants woke up to find a nightmare unfolding before their eyes. The land was moving, separating, throwing continents away from each other. An earthquake revealed churning magma from the mantle.

But it wasn't only the magma that was moving under the crust.

From the very core itself, wispy and purple snake-like structures rose out of the magma, winding over the broken pieces of land. It pushed back the pieces as if they were mere rocks in its way, and revealed a patch of glowing magma where the wisps seemed to be coming from. From far above in space, Dr. Eggman gasped in awe.

Something huge was emerging from the core. A monstrous creature slowly rose from the lava, purple wisps of energy surrounding its transparent body. What seemed to be its head hung low against its chest as it breathed heavily, a rattling sound that could be heard across the world.

Dr. Eggman was too captivated by the sight of the monster to notice that Sonic was also breathing in the same, heavy and rattling way. The blue hedgehog was kneeling on the floor, exhausted from the agony as the electricity drained him, and he swiped uselessly at the air before collapsing again. _Why, why am I feeling so…weird…_ he felt as if he had been awakened from a long sleep, and his body suddenly jerked upwards, his spines stiffening, his eyes rolling as he felt his eyelids being stretched upwards. What was happening? His stomach was clenching uncomfortably and he felt as if insides were being stretched. Was the electricity doing this to him? But it hadn't given him this effect before…

Far below, the monster unsteadily rose from its position, keeling forward a bit and placing an undeveloped hand onto the crust's surface.

At the very same time, Sonic felt the muscles in his left arm and hand convulsing. At first, he grunted and kept his eyes shut. But then, the grunt slowly transformed into a guttural growl, and his arm suddenly started to expand. His peach arms were darkening, dark blue fur sprouting out from his arm all the way to his shoulders. His slender arm inflated, stretching his glove to its maximum and shredding it to pieces, revealing a large clawed paw that he slammed against the floor. His fingers continued curling, his nails sharpening further and leaving marks on the floor. Another gurgling yell was ripped out of him as more dark blue fur grew around his body, across his back and on his quills. His shoulders squared, his chest becoming broader. White, silvery fur replaced his peach chest and tipped his quills. _What is happening to me!_ Sonic's thoughts screamed in utter panic.

During this, the creature from the planet had pulled itself up and was leaning against two pieces of crust for support. The top of its head glowed a bright purple as it gnashed its teeth. Its whole being flared with negative energy.

By this time, Sonic was overwhelmed by whatever nightmare was happening to him. But it wasn't finished. As he growled, he felt his jaw expanding, forbidding him to close his mouth all the way. He became aware of a sharp pain in his gums, and when he ran a tongue around his teeth, something pricked it and he could taste blood. His canines were extending, sharpening into wicked points, and as they extended down to his lower lip, Sonic jerked backwards then surged forward, his eyes flying open. The electricity ruffled his fur and illuminated his wild eyes.

The rumbling in his chest exploded out as a snarling roar, a deep, ancient monster inside of him stirring for the first time.

On the planet, the monster let out a screeching roar as well, its huge maw opening to reveal blinding white. The scream shook the planet, the very sky and earth.

The ancient beast had awakened.

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The Chaos Emeralds dropped to the floor, absolutely colorless and lifeless from the drainage. The electricity also stopped, and the pillars and rods disappeared, returning to their compartments. The light of the glowing circle in the middle died down, and Sonic slumped forwards, exhausted. The sudden lack of electricity left soreness that shrieked in his muscles. He rasped heavily, his body feeling strangely heavy and foreign. _What…what happened…_

From Dr. Eggman's position, he could see that his work – the broken planet – had been a success. He laughed exultantly, feeling more powerful than he had ever felt before. He, Dr. Eggman, had just cracked a very planet to pieces!

"Success! A brilliant success!" He gloated, staring at the planet with hunger. "It's just as the Gaia manuscripts foretold! The entity that was sealed within the planet has been awakened…now, I'll just have to harness its power!" With the immense power from the entity, he would be unstoppable! "Eggmanland will finally come to be!"

The triumph in his laughter finally brought the creature in the middle of the floor to his senses, and he let out a rattling growl. The sound startled the laughing human, and he stared down at his other…unexpected work on the floor.

At first, he didn't recognize the monster that was crouching in the middle. It had its back towards him, and it was so…_furry._ Its arms were huge in comparison to the rest of its body, equipped with large, clawed paws. When it turned around to glare at him, the Dr. almost jumped in surprise. Those emerald green eyes…were Sonic's! What _happened _to him?

The furry Sonic creature tried to take a step forward, but his balance was unstable, and instead he fell into an all-fours stance, his shoulders hunched with anger. When he glared back up at Dr. Eggman, he could see that the hedgehog's muzzle had narrowed and were now equipped with fangs. "You've…really gone and done it this time Eggman!" Sonic snarled, his usual, alto pitched voice now roughened into a growl. The wild fire in his green eyes reflected the beast that he had transformed into, and the Dr. leaned back a little. Now that he thought of it, Sonic looked very wolf-like.

_It must've been the negative energy from the entity,_ the human reasoned. _The energy converter was still giving off energy to the cannon when it had awakened, and contact with its negative power probably affected Sonic as well. _

"Ah Sonic," Dr. Eggman smirked, slowly reaching for a button on his panel. Probably best to dispose of that…_werehog_, if he should call it, before he became aggressive. "That's a good look for you. Festive!"

At that sentence, Sonic's eyes widened in surprise, probably because he was still oblivious to the fact that he had transformed into a beast. Dr. Eggman let out a grin and gave him a final wave. "So long, _friend!_"

With that, he sealed himself behind a protective dome of glass while the window behind Sonic suddenly burst open. The pressure of the room disappeared, and the sucking gravity of space yanked Sonic off the floor. The Mobian yelped, and he desperately grabbed onto the metal flooring, the vacuum pulling at his whole body. Slowly, he tried to bring his other arm around, but the force yanked at his hand, and he lost his grip.

The beast was sucked out and flung mercilessly into space, the gravity of the broken planet pulling him towards it. The drained Chaos Emeralds were also flung out with him, knocking against the beast as they disappeared towards the planet. The scream of the falling werehog died down as he disappeared from sight.

Among the ruined planet, the awakened Dark entity leaned forward and let out a screech before slowly dissipating, spreading its purple mist across the planet where it would spread its negative influence around the world.

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**And that's all for this chapter. Sorry for the huge amount of text. Hopefully the next chapter won't be as painful to read. :D Thanks to anyone who reviews! **


	3. Chapter 2: A Case of Amnesia

**Apologies for the last chapter for being so lengthy. I guess I still have to improve on fast-paced fighting. So to make up for that, this chapter won't be (nearly) as long, hurray! :P This is basically the first cutscene after the opening one, I'll add more of my storyline in the next chapter. Enjoy.**

**I do not own Sonic Unleashed or any of the characters. **

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**_CHAPTER TWO_**

A CASE OF AMNESIA****

**_~: ~: ~: _**

The black, silent realm of his unconsciousness was peaceful, and any pain he felt was numbed until it became a faint memory. He could feel a gentle breeze flowing around him as he continued his downward descent. All sound was muffled, an eerily peaceful feeling descending on him. What a pity, to have to be wrenched away from this world of oblivion.

But Sonic knew that he had to wake up. Faintly, he remembered (that is, if he remembered correctly) that Eggman had flung him out of his space station, and that he should be…falling…rapidly, down to…the planet?

At that, his eyes flew open, expecting for the ground to be speeding terrifyingly towards him. The moment he regained consciousness brought back the pain he had suffered from the electricity, and he cringed from his sore muscles. _Why am I not dead yet? I should be dead, _were his thoughts. If the gravity's pressure didn't kill him, then the ground eventually would. The Mobian didn't know which way to die was better – to be crushed to death or to be crushed to death. Both options looked pretty much the same.

But to his surprise, he was not dropping like a rock down to Earth. In fact, he wasn't even falling at all. True, he had already fallen through space and had entered the planet's atmosphere, but right now, it was as if something was keeping him suspended in air. When he looked around him, he noticed a strange, bubble-like shape surrounding him, its edges giving off a green light. It seemed to be keeping him stationary, even though he had no idea what it was. The sky was a midnight blue, a sign that the sun had not risen yet, and when Sonic looked down, he could see that he was still above the clouds, that the land was just a mere strip below him.

_That would be a nasty fall if this bubble thing suddenly disappeared,_ he mused.

Unfortunately, that's exactly what happened next, and the Mobian found himself staring at thin air around him, the bubble gone.

_Uh oh._

"NOO!" he screamed and flailed as he dive-bombed to Earth two seconds later. About a moment later, seven, black Chaos Emeralds followed pursuit after him.

The air whipped at his face and tears threatened to leak out of his eyes from the speed. The ground felt like solid rock against his face as he crashed mercilessly into it, a giant spray of dirt and grass hurtling into the air.

For about five seconds, Sonic didn't move. His head was hammering from the impact, and he couldn't open his eyes. When he tried to groan, his mouth was filled with dirt, and he spat, opening his eyes.

And saw nothing but blackness.

_Did I go blind? _For a second, he panicked, but then, he felt the damp walls of dirt around his face, and the earthly smell of, well, earth. When he tried to wipe his face, his hand bumped against something solid that was covering his head. That's when he realized that his head was stuck under the ground from the fall, and he sweat-dropped.

Placing his hands against the ground, he pushed upwards and tried to pull his head out. But it seemed to be stuck pretty well, for his head didn't budge. Frustrated, he got onto his feet and used all four of his limbs to push against the ground, his tail wriggling with the effort. Finally, he wrenched his head out of the crater he had created, shaking loose dirt into the air. The motion caused his head to spin, and he put a hand on his temple, feeling dazed.

"What the heck is going on?" he huffed, starting a bit at the sound of his rough voice. He had heard the difference when he had been on Eggman's space station, but he had been too angry to feel startled. Now that he was (relatively) calmer, he groped at his neck a bit, wondering if he had a sore throat. He rumbled his throat, feeling the vibrations as a lower pitch.

Now the real questions hit him. Why had he not been crushed to death? Surely it had something to do with the strange bubble saving him from his downward descent. (Although, it would've been nice if it had caught him closer to the ground) But where did the bubble come from? It couldn't have come from the Chaos Emeralds, for they were drained. They were lying around him in a circle now, unharmed from the fall, and they had been pretty much inactive since his wild descent from space.

Everything that had happened on the space station flashed through his mind again. The electricity, the pain, the strange feeling of his body transforming, transforming into something monstrous, and then, the wild roar he never knew existed within himself. It was as if a dark being had awakened inside of him, a sleeping monster that had finally come to its senses. The moment when he roared, it had burst to life.

What Sonic hadn't known was that the moment that he had roared, the Dark entity awakened from the planet had roared as well. It wasn't just a matter of coincidence.

The roar had been one.

Sonic could tell that his body had transformed into something other than his own. He could feel the sharp claws piercing into his skin when he touched his neck. When he licked his lips, he could feel the presence of fangs. His senses had also changed, and for a moment, he blinked, trying to get used to his surroundings. Although it was considerably dark, he could see quite clearly, making out details on objects he couldn't have done before. Farther up a ledge was a windmill, its propellers rotating slowly. When he rotated his ears, he could pick out small scuffling sounds among the undergrowth, and the sound of something breathing. The faint, scent of chocolate suddenly wafted into his nose, and he sniffed. Where was that coming from?

He scanned the ground in front of him, making out the shapes of rocks and long blades of grass. That's when he realized something small sprawled across the ground near the crater he had made, and his eyes widened. _Maybe an inhabitant of this planet? _He pondered. What was it doing out here? 

Sonic cautiously took a step forward, swinging his arms awkwardly. He felt oddly out of balance, and he wondered if his transformation had anything to do with that. When he reached the prostrate figure huddled on the ground, he picked it up with one paw and shook it a little. It was about the size of his head, and it had burgundy fur with a white stomach, muzzle, and feet. It also had a whip of fluff on its head that resembled whipped cream. "Hey?" Sonic rumbled.

No answer. The smell of chocolate was much stronger now, and the Mobian wondered if it was coming from the dangling form in front of him. "Are you okay?" he tried again, poking it gingerly with a clawed finger.

This time, he got a reaction, and the little creature lifted its head slightly, its eyes still closed. "Mm…I can't…I can't eat another bite…" it murmured before it became limp again.

Sonic stared confusedly at it. _What? _From the sound of its voice, the Mobian guessed it was a male, and he shook him harder, getting impatient. "Hey! Pull yourself together!" He didn't accidently stuff himself with soil, did he?

This time, the creature blinked drowsily, revealing bronze colored eyes as he gazed blankly at the thing in front of him. At first, he didn't realize he was upside down. All he could see was haze, and he blinked harder, clearing his blurry vision. "Erngh?" he grunted, tilting his head back to look up. But instead of the sky, he found himself staring at grass. Confused, he trailed his eyes downwards and caught sight of a…shoe?

"Whoa…" the creature suddenly heard a voice, and when he stared right in front of him, the face of a giant monster with fangs and slanted eyes stared back.

"GYAH!" he yelped, struggling out of his upside-down grip and dashed as fast as he could towards a nearby rock. Sonic let go of him in surprise (and because his little hind feet had caught him under the nose). He blinked and stared at the trembling creature, which was now cowering behind the rock and looking fearfully up at him with wide eyes. _What's up with him? _The Mobian thought, his nose twitching a bit. Unfortunately, Sonic hadn't realized that his transformation would trigger such dramatic effects, for he still thought of himself as a hedgehog. He peered around the bush, but made no move forward. The burgundy creature shrank behind the rock, squeaking, "D-don't eat me! I t-taste bad!"

_Eat you? _Sonic thought with surprise. Again, he had forgotten the state he was in and huffed with amusement. _Why would I eat you? And how would you know if you tasted bad? _

"Are you okay?" He asked gently, not wanting to startle the creature any further. "Nothing…broken?" Perhaps the creature had been lying on the floor because of an injury, such as a broken leg…?

The burgundy inhabitant hesitated behind his cover, glancing warily at the furry creature standing a few feet away from him. Who _was _that guy, and where did he come from? He looked pretty dangerous to him, what with his glistening fangs and furrowed eyebrows. Was this a trick, just to lure him into those sharp, scary claws of his? The thought of getting sliced to bits didn't do much to help his overly full stomach. Maybe he should throw any left over snacks he had to the beast, hope he likes it, and make a run for it.

But there was something in his tone, the way he had asked the question, which made the creature rethink his plan. When he looked into the beast's green eyes, he didn't see any hostility or menace in them, just genuine concern. _Maybe…this monster isn't that bad…_ he thought slowly.

"Oh…I'm just fine," the little creature emerged from his rock and started towards Sonic. But instead of walking, the creature did a little hop, and suddenly, he was flying in the air, lifting himself off the ground. Sonic blinked when he caught sight of the small, green, wings flapping similar to those of a butterfly's on the creature's back. Guess he missed it the first time he looked him over.

When the creature was hovering right in front of him, he quavered slightly, but still mustered his courage and thanked, "Thanks for asking, Mr. Monster Guy."

Now _this _caught Sonic a little off guard, and for a few seconds, he whipped his head around, thinking that someone else was with them and that the creature had been referring to him or her instead. But other than the two of them, no other living soul was in sight. The statement now fully settled in, and the Mobian's gut lurched with a slight feeling of dread. "Mr. …Monster Guy?" he repeated with astonishment, looking down at himself. Was he really _that_ fiendish looking? He already knew his body looked strange and foreign. Of course, he hadn't taken a look at his face yet, since Eggman hadn't had a mirror installed in his room, and now he worried if his visage had transformed into something horribly gruesome. "Looks like things have gotten pretty ugly…" he muttered disdainfully. _If I ever get to see Egghead again, I'm going to give him an extreme makeover and see if _he _likes it, _he vowed vengefully. Would he fancy a furry mustache and a long tail?

Apparently, the little creature hadn't heard the disgruntled tone in his voice, and instead agreed with his statement, flying around the Mobian as if making a very detailed inspection. "Yeah. Look at those teeth…and those claws." He stretched a white paw and prodded the beast's fingers, although deliberately avoiding the quick and anything above that. Sonic snatched his hand away, feeling a bit irritated at the smaller creature's curiosity, and so he flew around his shoulder to face him again. "What's your name anyway?"

Now that was more like it. Out of everything that had happened so far, it was the only thing the beast was certain of. Sonic bared his teeth in a grin, tilting a clawed thumb upwards. "I'm Sonic, Sonic the hedgehog," he growled. _Or rather…I was a hedgehog before…this, _he corrected mentally. But something inside him stubbornly resisted, and he shook his head. _No matter what happens, I'll still be myself. _"And you are…?" he questioned in turn.

At this fairly simple question, the burgundy inhabitant opened his mouth to answer. He blinked, furrowed his brows, scratched his ear, and Sonic waited with anticipation.

"Hmm…" the creature mulled it over, and suddenly, his eyes widened. "Wha! W-what is my name! Ahh!" He started to run frantically in circles, banging his forehead with his fist. "I don't knooow! I can't remember!"

Sonic nearly fell over his own feet and on his face, but he managed to keep himself upright. "What?! You forgot who you are? How is that possible?"

The poor little creature just shook his head desperately. "I-I don't know…"

"Where do you live? How did you get here?" Sonic prompted, but already, he could see it was no use. The burgundy creature merely stared back at him, at a loss for words. It was obvious that his mind was blank. But how?

The Mobian rubbed his chin, glancing around to see if there were any paths that would provide a hint as to where the creature had come from. His eyes fell on the crater he had made thanks to his melodramatic fall, and suddenly, he was struck by a thought.

"Do you have any remembrance of something hitting your head?" Sonic asked once again, and the little creature thought for a second.

"Well…I do remember something falling from the sky…" he trailed a paw in the air, and then fell to the ground on his stomach, as if acting the situation out would help him remember better. "…and then everything just going all white!" He got up again, staggering around as if drunk. "And then, nothing! I can't remember a thing past that!"

Unfortunately, the creature had just confirmed Sonic's fears, and he cleared his throat guiltily. _Uh oh…did I fall on him? _He had heard that getting hit on the head would cause amnesia. Of course, it depended on how hard the impact had been. If he had really fallen on the creature…_all_ the way from space…well, no wonder he couldn't remember anything. In fact, he was surprised that he hadn't crushed him. Come to think of it, the little creature didn't look hurt at all, but still…the Mobian falling on him seemed to be the only explanation for the inhabitant's loss of memory. _Great. My first inhabitant I encounter on a new planet and already I'm responsible for nearly squashing him to death._

"Well…" Sonic started, not sure how to tell him this, but the creature was too busy flying frantically around back and forth to listen.

"Oh man! What will I do?" he panicked, waving his arms in the air. "What _can _I do? I don't even know who I am, or where I live! Where will I go from here? Where will I - " Suddenly, he stopped his babbling and a tired expression crossed his features. "Oof…I'm hungry." His little wings stopped flapping.

Sonic didn't quite understand how the creature could be hungry at a time like this, (and hadn't he said that he was too full before?) but nevertheless, he caught the creature as he fell from the air and promised, "Hey, don't worry. I'll help you get your memory back."

The sullen creature twitched his ears and looked up at the beast with surprise. "Really? You mean it?"

Sonic nodded while the creature leaped out of his palm and flew on top of his head, landing in between his two ears. The beast felt that helping would be the least he could do, since he sort of owed the animal for…falling on him. "Absolutely. I'm sure we'll find someone who knows you, and knows where you come from. All we have to do is look around and find that someone."

Filled with new hope, the little creature slid off the Mobian's head and cheered, "Oh, thank you! You're the best, Mr. Monster Gu – I mean…Sonic! The hedgehog," he corrected quickly.

The burgundy creature raised a paw, and Sonic realized what he wanted him to do. The Mobian raised his large paw as well and the two met in a hi-five (Sonic carefully controlling his move so that he wouldn't batter the creature) and the inhabitant laughed joyfully as he flew around in circles. "I'm going to find out who I am!" he said to himself, looking excited.

Sonic watched as the creature somersaulted in the air and couldn't help but smile. Well, whatever world Eggman had thrown him onto, he had at least made a friend. A friend that had no idea who he was, but still, one couldn't be too picky at a desperate time like this. Besides, trying to recollect the creature's memory would at least help the beast to get more familiar with the new world. Did all the inhabitants look like the little creature he had just befriended? Hopefully having amnesia wasn't something they all had in common.

He looked up at the sky. It was no longer dark, and instead, the beginning of dawn was already starting to appear over the horizon. Back on his home planet, the sun would also be rising, and his friends would be getting ready for a new day. Not for the first time, Sonic wondered if Tails had gotten away in the X-Tornado and returned to Mobius safely. He hoped that the laser hadn't caught his young fox friend when Dr. Eggman had fired the cannon. _Or hopefully, he wasn't too tired and fell asleep on the plane, _he mused to himself.

By the time he turned to look out over the ocean and at the horizon, the top of the sun was emerging, its light illuminating the sky a pink. All over the world, the inhabitants would be stirring, embracing the warm light of the sun.

But one creature was doing the exact opposite.

Sonic wasn't aware that the monster inside of him was settling down, retreating to the darkest areas to slumber. As the planet made its slow rotation to face the sun, the ancient beast of the broken planet withdrew into the core, a deep rumbling resounding through the thick layers of rock as its flares of negative energy also withdrew towards it. The mist of its negative influence was dissipating, slowly being reclaimed by the Dark entity and releasing its hold over victims' minds. But for some reason, some of its negative power was refusing to return to it, resisting its orders. It seemed that it had found a new entity of its own to reside in, and it seemed pretty content staying where it was. A deep grumbling of dissatisfaction vibrated through the monster, but it had no choice but to sink into the molten lava, for the sun was rising and casting its rays onto the planet. Before it descended into the lava though, it gave one last commanding tug at the remaining negative energy, hoping to withdraw a proportion of it back.

Far from the core, Sonic felt an uncomfortable tug at his chest.

He jerked in surprise, thinking that something must've pulled his fur, but the little burgundy creature was still somersaulting behind him, and he was standing facing the rising run. He was going to turn around when a sudden sear of pain ripped at his body, and he tensed, growling. It felt as if the skin around his chest and stomach was splitting open, and the rest of skin around his body was shrinking, suffocating him.

Sonic heard the creature behind him call out in surprise, but the roaring of blood in his ears drowned out his words. The Mobian could feel a strange tingling sensation throughout his whole body, as if he were shrinking into himself. With his eyes squeezed shut, he was unaware of the dark pulses of energy being stripped from the gaping void in his chest, the beast within him shrieking with protest when its power was stripped away. Its hold on its host faded away as the darkness retreated from the bright glow, obliterating all traces of its negative presence and putting it into a deep slumber.

The sun rose to its full height, shining its bright light down on the planet.

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**Thanks for reading, please review! **


	4. Chapter 3: Lost Fox

**__****Sorry for the long wait! Chapter three is finally up. Here I don't have to strictly follow the Sonic Unleashed scenes. Instead, we'll be taking a look at a certain fox's troubles..enjoy! **

**All characters belong to SEGA **

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**_CHAPTER THREE_**

LOST FOX**_~: ~: ~: ~: ~: ~: ~: ~: ~: ~: ~:_**

"W-whoa…" the small creature squeaked in both wonder and fear, his bronze eyes wide. Just a moment ago, he had seen his monster friend (as a bulky, furry, somewhat intimidating beast) standing at the edge of the cliff with the sun rising from the horizon. Now, as the dark strips of energy dissipated, he stared at the new figure crouching slightly tensed in front of him.

When Sonic realized that his body had stopped tingling and his chest had stopped hurting, he cautiously opened one eye, expecting his chest to be bruised, or cut, or bleeding. _What the heck just happened? _Maybe the fall had done more damage than he had thought, and had snapped his ribs. Not sure what to expect, he looked warily down at himself.

And could only stare in disbelief.

"Wha?" he managed to utter, groping at his chest as if it were foreign material. Instead of the white fur he had sprouted since his visit in space, he was staring at his normal, peach colored skin. He raised an arm and saw that it was no longer fluffy and large, but slender and peach colored as well. For a second, he was thrown into an inspection frenzy, whipping his head over his shoulder and down at his knees, suspecting dark blue fur. Instead, he found them to be cobalt blue, sleek and smooth fur instead of midnight blue fuzz. When he ran a hand through his quills, they actually pricked at his palms. His gloves had magically reappeared back on his clawless hands, as well as his normal shoes. Still wanting to be absolutely sure, Sonic twisted his head around for one final check.

Sure enough, his pointy blue tail stuck out almost in a friendly way up at him.

"This just…can't be true," he remarked in awe, still flexing his joints and muscles as if trying to make sure that everything was real. How had it happened? Just a moment ago, he had been a furry, slightly out-of-coordination beast. (Did he mention furry?) Now, he was back to his normal self. A blue hedgehog. Did the transformation suddenly wear off somehow?

The hedgehog was so absorbed with his thoughts that he almost forgot about the little creature behind him. Apparently, he had been watching the whole thing happen as well, and he floated up to him now, his jaw slack.

"That…was…_amazing,_" he exclaimed, darting around the hedgehog as he stared at his new form. "How did you _do_ that?"

Sonic was still staring at his gloved hands, finding it hard to believe that just a few moments ago it had been equipped with sharp claws. "Actually, I didn't really do _anything,_" he clarified. He tugged at his chest and groped around his neck, marveling at the sound of his normal pitch. "I just…changed somehow."

But _how? _Maybe Dr. Eggman really_ did _hold back with the electricity, and the effect hadn't lasted very long. Although if this were true, then the hedgehog didn't want to know what full-blast felt like. He had suffered enough pain for one night.

Although he was still confused, a wave of relief overcame the blue hedgehog and he laughed. Whatever had happened to him was over, and he no longer had to worry about it. Dr. Eggman had failed to keep him in that beastly state, and the victory was his. However, his triumph was short-lived when another important thought resurfaced, and he stopped laughing, turning his head towards the objects on the floor.

The drained Chaos Emeralds still lay in a circle on the ground, and although the sun was shining over them, they still appeared dull. Sonic reached down, picked one up, and held it near his face. The usual, surge of warm energy that would fill him at contact was no longer present. When he gazed into its form, it was cold, lifeless – not even a faint residue of its usual shine of power could be seen. For an evanescent moment, a deep pang of sadness rose inside the blue hedgehog. These were the Emeralds that had been his source of power for countless years; their forms always full of color and life, and it discouraged him now, to see them so…dead.

The hard, cold surface of the emerald reflected his burning eyes when he said softly, "I changed…but the Emeralds haven't."

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Tails sighed, watching people pass by him as he sat on a low, stone wall. It felt a little strange, being the only Mobian creature among the many humans walking about. But it wasn't the first time he had been among their kind, so it didn't bother him too much. A few people did give him some curious stares, but they passed by and didn't question him, much to his relief. He didn't feel like striking up a conversation at the moment.

The fox had waited at the town from dawn to mid-morning, and yet, there was still no sign of his older brother, Sonic. He was sure that he had seen him fall somewhere around here, but so far, there was no sign of the short, blue hedgehog.

The yellow fox twisted his two tails with a hint of anxiety, and his mind started to drift back in time. The scenery around him seemed to melt away as his recent memories flooded his senses, bringing him back to the night before, when he had been in space.

- - - - - ***flashback**

Ever since flying the Tornado up into space, Tails had gone against Sonic's orders (which was for him to go back to Mobius immediately) and he had stayed close but out of sight to Dr. Eggman's moving fleet. When Super Sonic had destroyed the fleet, Tails had waited jubilantly and expectantly for the hedgehog's descent home, back to the planet.

He should've known something wasn't right when he had realized that the planet he had been looking down at was no longer Mobius.

Tails remembered flying the plane around the burning ships, looking for any sign of his friend, but to no avail. When the fox had heard the hedgehog's agonized scream pierce the night, he immediately went into a panic. Sonic usually never cried out in such pain, and he knew that something must've gone terribly wrong. Frantically, he had searched every place, but had failed to catch sight of the space station a few ways off. A few seconds later, he had caught sight of that space station changing form, a purple glow forming around its shaft.

Before he had time to think, a white-hot laser beam had been shot out towards the alien planet, the immense force shattering it to pieces. Something huge had also risen out of the glowing lava due to the opening among the crust, its huge maw raised towards the sky as it roared. Whatever it was, the fox didn't want to know.

He had slammed on the pedal, shooting forwards toward the space station, but he had been too late. A small form had fallen out of the station, shrieking as it fell towards the planet, and from its silhouette, Tails had known that it was Sonic.

"Why… am…I so slow?" The fox had slammed his dash panel, feeling utterly useless and furious with himself. Other than being a mechanical genius, he was basically good for nothing else. He had heard his brother's scream, and yet he hadn't been able to find him. He had had a chance to save Sonic, and yet…he had failed.

"What are you talking about! Are you going to follow or not?!" The voice that had shrieked out at him nearly caused him to jump out of the plane with surprise. Turning his head around, the fox had found himself staring face-to-face with a face he knew very well, and it perplexed him to no end wondering how she had gotten into his plane.

"Amy?! What? How did you – " he had sputtered, but the pink hedgehog had impatiently waved her hand as she struggled out of her hiding position behind the backseat.

"I saw you leaving and got in when you weren't looking, how else could I have snuck in? I was just worried about Sonic okay!" she had explained heatedly, suddenly pitching forward and knocking his arms off of the wheel. "And now he's in trouble and you're just _sitting _there? If you're not going to do anything, I'll just have to take care of things myself then!"

Tails had fought for the wheel from the chagrined hedgehog, her words stinging him more than she had intended. _She's right… _he had realized, narrowly missing Amy's elbow. _I'm just sitting here, feeling sorry for myself. If Sonic were I, he would've followed without a second thought. I should be trying to do something! _

Suddenly, the yellow fox had straightened, a new, determined look in his eyes as he gripped the steering wheel steadily. At the sudden change in his mood, the pink hedgehog had stopped struggling, panting from the excursion from flailing so much, and she watched Tails stare purposefully at the planet.

"Are you ready Amy? We're going to save Sonic," he had asked firmly, and the pink hedgehog blinked with surprise at his determination. The fox hadn't needed an answer; he could see Amy's blazing eyes reflecting off his windshield, and that itself was enough for an answer. Whatever Dr. Eggman had done, they were going to look for the blue hedgehog. Steering the rods forward, Tails slammed on the pedal, and the little plane shot towards the blue planet, leaving the steaming and burning airships of Dr. Eggman's fleet behind.

Tails remembered steering the X-Tornado straight towards the planet's atmosphere, him and Amy both bracing themselves for the impact. Unfortunately, the impact had done more damage than he had initially thought, for as they rocketed down, the heat from the penetration had skewered the plane's tail, as well as causing an engine to blow. The smell of smoke and the shrill beeping of alarms had filled the air, and Tails had desperately started flipping switches, trying to maintain the plane's flight. Without any Chaos Emerald powering the plane, it had been impossible to regenerate the plane's damaged parts. Their landing wasn't going to be pleasant.

"Hold on! We're in for a rough landing!" he had warned Amy, and with that, the burning plane plummeted down to the surface. Luckily, the fox had had enough control over the plane, and he had maneuvered it towards one of the broken pieces of the planet. It landed roughly into a large lake, water splashing everywhere and momentarily covering their vision.

Tails had thrown open the emergency hatch on top, pulling Amy out as well as they got out of the plane and swam for the shore. Wet and discouraged at seeing his beloved plane in its state, the young fox had paced along the bank, unsure of what to do next. He would have to fix the X-Tornado first before searching for Sonic, although he was anxious to find his brother. He didn't know if he had been severely injured, or if he was alone and needed help.

Amy hadn't helped with his troubled state, and instead had constantly pestered him with questions he had no answer for.

"Where do you think Sonic landed? What did Dr. Eggman do to him? Actually, what did he do to this planet?! The whole land is broken to pieces! And what was that creature that had risen out of the lava? You don't think it got Sonic right? What if it attacks us right now? What if –"

"Amy, please!" Tails had shouted exasperatedly. He put his head in his hands, the situation they were in seeming utterly hopeless. It had still been pretty dark at the time, and the cold night air chilled him. "I don't know where we are, and I don't know the exact location Sonic had landed. I'm also not sure what Dr. Eggman was trying to do, breaking the planet and awakening that horrible monster. All I know is that we're lost on a foreign planet, Sonic's lost as well, and we have no idea if the living beings here are cannibalistic creatures ready to eat us."

The fox wasn't usually pessimistic, but at a time like that, no one could really blame him. The pink hedgehog had pursed her lips but kept her mouth shut, staring off into the distance. They had remained like that for a few minutes, both wondering what to do and how they were going to get out of this mess.

The fox had stared at the half-submerged plane in the lake, the tip of its wing scorched and still steaming. If he could just reach his tools inside, he could fix the plane. But how would he get it out of the lake? He wasn't strong enough to move it. He doubted Amy could either, even though she had a pretty strong arm due to carrying around a large hammer all the time. He had turned his head, intending to ask the pink hedgehog something, but she had wandered a bit far, as far as the small hill to the west side of the lake. She was standing at the very top, and she seemed to have seen something, for she called his name and urged him to come over.

"What is it?" Tails had asked, coming to stand next to her on top of the hill. Instead of answering, Amy roughly took his head in her hands and turned it so that he was facing the other side of the hill. "Over there! Don't you see those buildings?"

The fox struggled out of her grip, rubbing the side of his head, a bit disgruntled. But he had seen the buildings she had referred to, and he peered at them more closely. A little way over a couple of more hills was a whole bunch of buildings, some lights still on inside them at this hour. It was too dark to see any fine detail, but from the general look, it seemed like a town.

"They look like the houses humans live in," Amy concluded, looking hopeful. Tails hadn't been as quick to share her hope though, for he was still skeptical.

"I don't know Amy. What if the creatures living there aren't humans?" he had questioned doubtfully, twisting his tails. He didn't want to run into more trouble. However, it seemed the pink hedgehog had stubbornly convinced herself that the inhabitants were certainly human beings, and she jerked at his arm impatiently, starting down the hill.

"Stop being so cautious! You know we need help, and I'm _sure _those structures are those of humans! I mean, _look _at them. I don't think any other creature would build them in such a way," she chided him, dragging at his arm. Tails dug his heels into the ground though, straining against her pull. Instead of looking down the hill, he was looking behind him, staring at the lake and the X-Tornado still lying in its depths. "Wait Amy! What about the X-Tornado? We can't – I can't just leave it here!" he protested, yanking his arm out of her grip and flinging it behind him. The pink hedgehog stopped and glared at him, and he defended, "Maybe we can go when its lighter, I just…I can't leave it…not yet." His tone had been desperate as he tried to convince the hedgehog. The plane was almost like a companion to him, and they've been through a lot together. Surely…Amy would understand?

The pink Mobian stared at him for a few moments, her dark green eyes gleaming in the dark. With a sigh, she turned her head, her voice flat when she stated, "I know it's important to you, but the only thing important to me right now is finding out where we are, and how to find Sonic." She clenched her hand into a fist. "He's more important to me than anything else."

Without another word, she turned around, heading down the hill. Tails watched in surprised, and had even called out, "Amy? Where are you going?"

The pink hedgehog stopped walking, but she hadn't turned around to look at him. Instead, she answered, "I'm going on alone. I guess…this is where we split." She turned around to give him one last look, her jade eyes hard, but a hint of sadness tinted her voice when she said, "Bye Tails."

The fox hadn't tried to stop her. He knew it would be no use. With Amy's stubbornness, talking her out of her intentions would be like trying to pull someone out of quicksand. As he watched Amy run towards the town, he glanced numbly back at the lake, feeling even more helpless than before. The night wasn't very cold, but it wasn't exactly warm either, and the fox could only stand there, his two bushy tails wrapped around his body.

Maybe Amy was right. Right now, he couldn't do anything to get the Tornado out of the water, and it was chilly outside. Not to mention that the sky seemed to be tinted with an eerie purple. The fox shivered, remembering the monster that had pulled itself out of the planet's core. The planet had been broken to pieces, but he hadn't seen any disturbance among the town. If it was really inhabited with people…

He had stayed there, frozen, for who knows how long, until he finally made up his mind. He would have to abandon the Tornado and get acquainted with his surroundings first. The only thing he wished he had done was making up his mind sooner, for if he had, he wouldn't be all alone now.

When the fox had approached the edge of the town, he had shied in the shadows of the buildings, keeping his senses alert. Amy had been right – the buildings did look like human structures. They were tall, and of a base brown color. At the moment, the streets were quite empty, lamplights glowing a warm yellow. He crept along the buildings, hiding behind flowerpots and skirting around empty stands. Most of the lights inside of the buildings were out, and so he couldn't catch a glimpse of what was inside.

The night was getting colder, and the fox shivered, rubbing his bushy tails along his arms. He decided to check a few more houses and leave for the night, back to his Tornado if it was the only option. The quiet tapping of his light steps bounced off the walls, and fearing that someone would hear him, he decided to change tactic and move his tails instead. Flying was much quieter, and also more efficient.

Rotating his two tails simultaneously, Tails continued down the streets, each house looking just like the last. He turned corners, went down back alleys, flew parallel to the roofs…and yet no living being seemed to be in sight, which meant that he hadn't bumped into Amy either. Where had she gone? Was the town much bigger than he had first thought? He stopped in mid-flight, hovering over another empty stand, and surveyed the area. All he could see were more buildings with their brown bases and intricate designs, the lamplights standing quietly at the street's edge. Suddenly, the walls seemed to be closing around him, trapping him in an endless maze, and panic started to creep into the fox's heart as he swiveled his head around. He couldn't remember which way he had come from, and his eyes were becoming strained and tired from lack of sleep. He couldn't see the hills he had come from either, and he had no idea if he was facing north, east, south, or west. His usual reliance on tracker devices seemed to have dampened his sense of direction, and now he realized how lost he felt without his inventions to help him.

An eerie feeling that he was being watched tingled up his spine, and Tails couldn't help but let out a little whimper of fear, his two whirling tails shaking. What had he been thinking, venturing unarmed and alone in a foreign place? Back on Mobius, he had been through dangerous situations far more perilous than this, such as facing Dr. Eggman's evil plans, but he had never been alone.

He had had Sonic by his side. Sonic, his bravery greater than that of the mightiest lion. Sonic, his thirsts for adventure urging him to run like the frenzied gait of a wolf's. Sonic, his confidence he radiated like the rays of the morning sun.

Sonic, the hedgehog who was his brother.

His mere presence had made the young fox feel safe anywhere, in any situation. All he needed was the hedgehog's smirk, and he knew that everything would be okay.

Now, he really was alone. He had no one to count on, no one to cower behind when things got really tough. He didn't have the X-Tornado, which at least was equipped with various missiles and rockets. He didn't even have Amy, who at least had a hammer and a temper that could scare off attackers. He was utterly alone.

But he couldn't break down now, not here. Sonic was out there somewhere, lost and probably wounded. The hedgehog's piercing scream echoed through the fox's brain, and he shook his head, pushing his fears out of his mind. After being the one who always needed help, this time, it was Tails' turn to help Sonic instead. He would have to trust his abilities and ignore his doubts. He needed to save his brother at any cost, for he knew that if it were him out there, lost and hurt, Sonic wouldn't think twice about it. He would put every fiber of his body to find him, no matter what dangers confronted his path.

Tails' heart had just begun to reduce its speed when his eyes caught sight of sudden movement. A strange hump was melting out of the shadows of a nearby house, its casted shadow long and ominous, slowly creeping towards him. Tails, surprised by this strange shape, started to fly backwards, putting as much distance as he could between the shadow and him. But in his hastiness, he had failed to see the fruit stand behind him, and he crashed into it with a loud _oomf, _landing in a pile of apples and oranges roughly.

The sound of the overturning baskets of fruit was like a gunshot in the middle of a forest. Tails knew without even getting up that unless the thing with the shadow was completely deaf, it would've heard his clumsy move and would be coming after him. Shaking apples off of his head, the fox prepared to scramble to his feet when he felt the figure's shadow fall over his form, blocking out the light from the lamps. He cringed, squeezing his eyes shut and instinctively curling his tails in front of him, forming a furry shield. Whatever it was that had come from the house was standing right over him, and out of fear, he lowered his head and dared not imagine what the figure was or looked like.

"What are you doing out here in the middle of the night?" The curious voice came from above him, and surprisingly, Tails understood it. Instead of a series of growls or foreign sounds, the figure was speaking in the same language that he did. Tails lowered one bushy tail a fraction of an inch, slowly opening one eyelid and peeking up at the figure leaning over him.

The first thought that struck the fox was that the figure was definitely human, and that his skinny and lanky build was the exact opposite of the bulging bulk of Dr. Eggman's. He was standing slightly bent as he stared down at the cowering Mobian, his eyes large with surprise and curiosity. His hair was an ocher red, and some loose strands curled over his forehead, their unruly position implying that he had just awoken from sleep. Sure enough, when Tails looked down at his clothes, they were plaid colored with matching blue stripes.

The little fox could feel his heart slow down a couple notches, and he almost sighed in relief. At least the figure in front of him wasn't some raging monster ready to snap him up with powerful jaws. But his guard hadn't gone completely down, and instead, Tails drew his tails closer to his body, replying in a shaky voice, "I – I'm looking for someone, but I don't know where I am…and…"

When he realized too late that he shouldn't have given away his true intentions, the man's eyes widened further and he jumped backwards a bit, his face making it clear that he was alarmed. "Wh-whoa little fellow, I didn't know you could…_talk,_" he stated a bit breathlessly, rubbing the side of his neck. "Gave me quite a scare…er…excuse me, I'm being rude," he hastily stammered, "You aren't from here are you?"

Tails hesitated slightly, not knowing how to answer. Should he give away information, or make a run for it while he still had the chance?

But apart from the yellow glow of the lamps around them, Tails could see nothing but shadow and darkness beyond the roofs of the town, and he shuddered. Unless he wanted to brave the dangers lurking in the night, it seemed that he had no choice but to continue the conversation with the human. Besides, he had already given away some information anyway.

"No, I'm not," the Mobian admitted, and the man's eyes widened even further. He stood straight and ran a hand through his gnarled hair, looking concerned. "A lot of odd things have been happening lately…what's going on?" the human muttered quietly, his voice carrying a hint of nervousness. Tails could hardly disagree with him. Not only was the fox on a foreign planet, he had seen a creepy monster ascend out of the molten lava from the core and shatter the entire planet to large fragments. No doubt the citizens would be in a panic.

The man seemed to be lost in thought for a while, staring at the purple-tainted night sky above them, until he suddenly snapped back to reality and faced Tails, his tone apologetic. "- Oh! I'm so sorry to zone out on you! Where are my manners…you must be really cold out here." Hearing his own words, the man shivered momentarily and rubbed his arms, as if realizing for the first time that he was out in the cold wearing pajamas only. "Why don't you come over to the laboratory for the night? You seem pretty lost right now," he offered quite generously, and Tails looked up at him with surprise at his hospitality.

"R-really?" he asked, and the man nodded. "Yeah, we've got plenty of room right now in the lab, and I'm pretty sure the professor won't mind," he explained, and Tails blinked. At the sound of a laboratory, the fox's interest was immediately heightened, not only because he was a science and mechanic genius, but also because it held the possibility that it might have tools that could help him repair the X-Tornado.

Suddenly things didn't seem as dark. Instead of his initial predictions of getting cornered by a beast, a human was offering the fox shelter. Under safety he would later contemplate on what to do next. Tails nodded thankfully, getting up from his curled position on the cold floor. "Thank you so much."

* * *

**To those who've played Sonic Unleashed, I'm pretty sure you know where Tails is now. Don't worry if you don't, you'll find out soon! Thanks to anyone who reviews! **


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